Disney’s Moana Teaser Trailer, Cast, Story and Release Date; Another Big Hit For Animation?

By Mark Rollins
Moana
Disney's "Moana" in theaters on November 23, 2016.  Disney

At this point, it is almost standard practice for a film to have three trailers, one that is a "teaser", then an official one, and then another one to really tease audiences before its final release.  Moana, Disney animated's newest computer generated feature, is set for holiday release, but the teaser trailer is in, and will probably build a lot more momentum as Finding Dory hits theaters.  This is what is known about Moana with its release date, teaser trailer, and news. 

Moana is another Disney film directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, and this pair should be familiar to you as they are the duo who gave us The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, and The Princess and the Frog.  This would be the first time that the directing duo has done a full 3D CG film. 

The trailer itself starts with an odd animation of a man's tattoos, and this man is Maui, a demi-god.  The setting is ancient Oceania in the South Pacific, and most viewers will recognize that Dwayne Johnson is the voice of Maui.  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is actually half black and half Samoan, but the animation seems to have been written with him in mind as it has his trademark smirk. 

The one newcomer to the film is Auli'l Cravalho, playing the title character of Moana.  The official imdb page has very little names except for Alan Tudyk.  This actor has played many roles in Disney's recent animated CG films like Wreck-it Ralph, Frozen, and Zootopia.  He's kind of becoming what John Ratzenberger is to Pixar films. 

As far as what Moana is about, it looks to be about Moana being a navigator on a ship for a voyage at sea with Maui.  The visuals feel like a more tropical version of Finding Dory, but it still looks very unique and beautiful. 

So, will this be a hit?  Honestly, Disney has been pretty good about picking out the subjects for its animated features recently, and it has been a while since they had a Chicken Little or a Home on the Range on their hands (or worse, Home on the Range).  I myself had doubts about whether or not Zootopia was going to work based on bad jokes in the trailer, and I feel the same way with the teaser of Moana.  At this point, it should be assumed that Moana will be another hit just like all of the others, unless it is really, really bad. 

Audiences can see for themselves when Moana hits theaters on November 23, 2016. 

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